1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and device for forming images in a surface of a material. More specifically, the invention relates to an automated process for carving images in glass panels or similar materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are at least three conventional methods of forming images on glass or similar materials. These methods include etching, carving, and grinding. Etching is a chemical process in which only the surface of the glass is etched away. Patterns are created by allowing the etching solution to touch only the areas to be etched. A similar surface effect is created by using a protector and lightly sand blasting the exposed areas. Carving by means of sand blasting is similar to the above mentioned variation of etching, except that the sand blasting process typically cuts deeply into the surface. Carving can include surface effects, but is characterized typically by deep cuts into the surface of the panel. Grinding is the process in which a grinding wheel grinds grooves into the surface. The cuts are deep, but tend to be straight line or circular in nature due to the limitations of the grinding wheel.
The process of carving flat panels of glass or similar material such as stone, concrete, etc. is well known. Typically, in the prior art the first step is to apply a resist material to the surface of the panel. It is conventional to use a commercially available heavy contact paper or plastic for this purpose. Next, a design is drawn on the contact paper or plastic. The design is the image which is desired to be formed on the panel. Then the portions of the resist material where the carving is to take place are removed. The next step is to sand blast the surface of the panel. The areas which are protected by the remaining resist material are unaffected, but in the exposed areas the panel is carved away by the sand blasting and a frosted finish is left which is the desired image. The above steps may be repeated several times to create the desired effects in the panel, i.e., carving of various depths.
The typical application of carving is forming decorative designs on glass panels such as are used in buildings.
The above-described methods of forming images are typically limited by the fact that they are completely manual processes, and thus labor intensive and tend to be slow and expensive. They also require a significant level of skill by the operator to achieve the precisely desired effects. The above-described methods also have the short coming that the artist who makes the design is typically not the same person as the operator who actually implements the design. Thus it is possible for artistic effects to be lost in the translation between the designer's concept and the implementation by the operator of the equipment.